We've all been there—you're busily working on a variety of projects and your boss comes and dumps some rush hour job on your lap. While you can't always avoid the rush job, you can steer it in the right direction.

You don't work in a vacuum, but your boss frequently forgets that when she dumps a last-minute rush job in your lap. To keep your sanity and your other projects progressing smoothly, you'll have to triage the situation. At the productivity blog Ian's Messy Desk they outline a few different techniques you can use, including taking control of what work will get deferred.

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Suggest work that can be traded-off. Conventional advice suggests placing the decision of priority back on the one requesting the rush job. "Here's what I'm working on, you decide what is a priority for me." That puts control of your workflow in somebody else's hands.

Instead, you make the suggestion as to what should be deferred to accommodate the job. "I suggest we move the deadline for the widget report to Wednesday. That way, I can complete your presentation today."

Indeed you can take things a step further and suggest moving a project or two that your boss values more than whatever emergency they've dropped in your lap. When they compare you losing ground on the Henderson project to the value of pulling you away for their presentation emergency they might foist the job off on someone else.

For more tips and tricks, check out the full article at the link below. Have a tip of your own to share? Let's hear about it in the comments.